Voices Carry
by Lord Thingy
Summary: The Hillridge kids have their hands full with the usual relationship drama, but things are out of control when someone's life is at stake.
1. 1

I don't own Lizzie McGuire or any of its characters. If I did, I'd be rich, which I'm not.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
"She's late," Lizzie observed, checking her watch.  
  
Gordo tapped his fingers against Lizzie's locker door. "Bell's gonna ring soon."  
  
Another minute passed, and when the bell did ring, they cast each other a concerned look. It wasn't like Miranda to be late to school. "We should get going," Gordo pointed out gently, and Lizzie nodded. "She's probably running late," he added as they walked to class. "Or maybe she's sick."  
  
"Her mom usually calls my mom if she's sick," Lizzie said.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Gordo agreed in a sad tone, as if he'd known all along that his suggestion held no merit.  
  
They settled into their usual seats in study hall, talking quietly as the teacher folded papers. The door creaked open, breaking the study hall atmosphere, and all heads looked up front to see who would dare walk in ten minutes late. It was Miranda.  
  
"Sanchez, right?" the monitor said tonelessly. Miranda nodded. "Do you have a late pass?" She shook her head.  
  
The monitor rolled his eyes, just barely hiding his disgust. "Take your seat."  
  
Miranda slid into the empty desk next to Lizzie, not looking up and still saying nothing. Finally she caved under the weight of Lizzie and Gordo's stares, and glanced at them. "Hi."  
  
"'Hi?'" Lizzie echoed disbelievingly. "Miranda, what's up? You're ten minutes late, no pass..." For the first time, Miranda's friends got a good look at her eyes. They looked dull. Sad. Tired. Lizzie immediately cast a fleeting look at Gordo, worried.  
  
"Miranda?" she asked, much more softly this time, both in volume and in tone. "Are you okay?"  
  
Miranda just stared at her blankly for a fraction of a second, then very slowly and cautiously, her lips curved upward in a half smile that was hardly sincere. "Yeah, 'm fine," she said.  
  
"Swear?" Lizzie pressed.  
  
Miranda nodded curtly, and flushed when the monitor cast the trio an irritated look. "Swear," she hissed, flipping open her notebook and ignoring them for the remainder of the period.  
  
When the bell rang excusing them, the class rose as a whole and flocked out of the door. Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda lagged behind, but still Miranda said nothing. They walked in silence to the next class, tensions high as a black cloud hovered over Miranda's head. Gordo opened the door to History, and held it for Lizzie, who walked through. Miranda hovered in front of it, then shook her head. "I'm...I'm going to the bathroom," she muttered, and ducking her head and clutching her books to her chest, wove her way through the hall.  
  
Lizzie stuck her head into the hallway and Gordo stood, still propping the door open with one hand, and they watched her go. "Okay, what the heck is going on?" Lizzie said. "I'm worried, Gordo."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Should I follow her?"  
  
"Nah, she said she was just going to the bathroom, and she'd freak if you followed."  
  
They were left with no other options than to walk into class, which they did. When the warning bell rang, Mr. Dig rushed into class. He was the only one rushing into class. As he took attendance, the only absence was glaringly Miranda's, and he looked to her two best friends for confirmation. "Miss McGuire, Mr. Gordon? Any idea as to Miss Sanchez's whereabouts?"  
  
Lizzie looked worriedly at Gordo, then flashed Mr. Dig a fixed smile. "She's not feeling well."  
  
"Ah. Well, my regards."  
  
Lizzie nodded, and Mr. Dig finished attendance and started the lesson. Miranda didn't come to class at all, nor was she in the rest of Lizzie and Gordo's morning classes.  
  
"Gordo?" Lizzie said as they exited math, their last morning class. "I just have this awful awful feeling...that this is bigger than just skipping class... Something bad is happening." 


	2. 2

I don't own it.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
Miranda did end up joining them at lunch. She sat down with her tray as if this was any normal lunch, as if she hadn't pulled a major disappearing act all morning. Lizzie wasn't sure what to do. Should she confront Miranda and hope that it wouldn't blow up in her face, or should she pretend like nothing was wrong and wait for it to blow over?  
  
She needed guidance. She glanced at Gordo.  
  
Gordo, unaware of Lizzie's penetrating look, grimaced at his sandwich. "I hate bologna."  
  
Okay, so they were doing the avoidance route. Lizzie nodded in commiseration. "Me, too. You'd think that your mom would finally catch on to the fact that you have never liked bologna."  
  
"It's been fourteen long years," Gordo agreed.  
  
An uncomfortable silence followed, and Lizzie coughed once before saying, "Did you see Ethan today? He looks really good in black."  
  
Gordo rolled his eyes, typical Gordo. Miranda offered a weak smile to her limp salad.  
  
Lizzie pounded her fist against the table, causing both of her best friends to jump. "I can't take this anymore. What's wrong, Miranda? And don't you dare say 'nothing' because it is very obviously not 'nothing' and you've got me and Gordo tearing our hair out here."  
  
"Listen, Lizzie, I appreciate the concern and all that, but really, don't waste your time worrying about me. It's hardly worth it." With that, Miranda gathered her things and walked away.  
  
This time, however, Lizzie wasn't content with letting her escape. Leaving her things where they were, she chased after her best friend. "Miranda, please, talk to me. You know you can tell me anything."  
  
The brunette shook her head fiercely. "No, Lizzie, I can't. There are some things you just can't tell people. I'm sorry." She started to walk away again, but Lizzie reached out and grabbed her arm.  
  
"Please!" she said. "Is there something wrong? Maybe you should talk to your mom or something..."  
  
Miranda jerked her gaze up at Lizzie, eyes widened. "No!" she burst, then calmed herself. "Not my mom," she said, more quietly. "Please. It's nothing. Don't get anyone involved in this."  
  
"How do I know it's nothing when I don't know what it is?"  
  
"It's *not important*, Lizzie," Miranda insisted. "Please, just let me go now."  
  
There was nothing else she could do. Lizzie sighed and released Miranda, watching as she continued down the hallway with a determined stalk, although it lacked Miranda's usual flare.  
  
"So what'd she say?" Gordo asked, appearing at Lizzie's elbow and holding out her backpack, which Lizzie accepted and shrugged into.  
  
"She didn't say anything."  
  
Gordo's brow knitted. "You don't think this is another food thing, is it? I mean, should we be worried?"  
  
"I don't know," Lizzie admitted.  
  
"Maybe...maybe whatever it is is too big for us. Maybe we should get an adult."  
  
Lizzie shook her head. "I don't think so. She pretty much freaked out when I suggested that she talk to her mom."  
  
"I don't know what to do, Liz," Gordo said.  
  
"She'll tell us when she's ready," Lizzie said decisively.  
  
"Are you so sure about that?"  
  
Neither of them could erase the nagging doubt in their minds. 


	3. 3

I don't own it.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
Miranda wasn't in any of their classes for the rest of the afternoon, and Lizzie and Gordo decided to converge at Lizzie's house to work on homework and worry about Miranda. "The way I see it," Gordo said as they walked home, "if she freaks out and tells us not to involved any adults, then it must be really huge, so maybe we *should* get an adult involved. And your mom is perfect."  
  
"Why is my mom perfect?"  
  
"Because my mom is...well, she's my mom. You know how she is. She'll psychoanalyze the furniture if it holds still long enough, and we don't need Miranda analyzed, we need advice."  
  
"Maybe we *do* need Miranda analyzed."  
  
"Somehow, I don't think that would help."  
  
"It's better than nothing. At least we'd have an answer."  
  
"That's why we're talking to your mom," Gordo said. "Your mom always has answers."  
  
"But what if she calls Miranda's mom?" Lizzie worried. "And then Miranda gets in trouble, or she gets mad at us..."  
  
"If it's bad enough that Miranda gets in trouble, then we've helped. And which would you rather have, Miranda mad at us, or Miranda in some serious danger?"  
  
Lizzie bit her lip. "I guess you're right. But for the record, I don't like it."  
  
"Fair enough."  
  
When they got to Lizzie's house however, only Mr. McGuire was there, not his wife. Lizzie and Gordo were in and out of the kitchen only long enough to grab a snack, then they retreated to Lizzie's room immediately. "Can we talk about anything other than Miranda?" Lizzie groaned, collapsing backwards onto her bed. "Not that I don't love her, and not that I'm not worried about her, but my brain is starting to hurt."  
  
"Ditto," Gordo said, tossing aside some pillows and climbing onto Lizzie's window seat with a tray of cookies. "So let's talk about something easy. Algebra!"  
  
Lizzie sat up, squealing indignantly. "Gordo!" she said, and tossed a pillow at his head.  
  
Gordo ducked to the side, and almost toppled the snack tray in the process. "Watch it! I have cookies!"  
  
"If you want to live long enough to eat them, don't mention algebra ever again," Lizzie said warningly, and then lay back down to stare pensively at her ceiling.  
  
Some of their best moments together were spent in silence, and this could have been one of them, if worry for Miranda hadn't put a damper on the mood. Lizzie traced the ceiling cracks with her eyes, while Gordo gazed out the window, chewing cookies methodically. "Hey, your mom's home," he observed, watching as Mrs. McGuire pulled in the driveway.  
  
Lizzie sat up for the first time in fifteen minutes. "Do we really have to do this?"  
  
Gordo frowned and looked at her. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I don't know what's going on or how we should deal with this. But we need to talk to someone, and maybe she can help."  
  
Lizzie nodded resolutely, and they got up, filing out of her room like a funeral parade. Sam McGuire had retreated to the den to watch television with Matt, and Jo McGuire was bustling around the kitchen, humming as she put away groceries.  
  
"Mom?" Lizzie asked as she and Gordo took seats at the island.  
  
"What is it, honey?" Jo turned around to pull a can of tomato sauce out of one of the grocery bags and spotted her daughter's best friend. "Hey, Gordo."  
  
"Um, hi, Mrs. McGuire," Gordo said.  
  
"We want to talk to you," Lizzie said. "It's um, it's kind of important."  
  
Jo nearly dropped the package of hot dog buns she was holding. "Oh my gosh, are you two getting together?" she squealed, joy lighting her face.  
  
Lizzie and Gordo both panicked, sitting up straighter, looking at each other and then looking away quickly, blushing, and both stammering urgently, "No!"  
  
"Oh," Jo said, looking immediately contrite for her quick jump to conclusions, then pretending like it hadn't happened. "What, then?"  
  
"It's, um, it's Miranda," Lizzie confessed. "Something's wrong, but we don't know what. She was really late for first period today, and she didn't have a pass, and she like, barely talked at all...and then she disappeared for all of our classes except lunch...and when I talked to her, she was really defensive and secretive and asked that we not talk to anyone about it." She glanced at Gordo, who nodded encouragingly. "Which is why we're talking to you. We need advice."  
  
Jo abandoned putting away the groceries and sat down opposite the teenagers. "Sounds serious."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Does she look any different than normal?"  
  
"Um...I don't know. Kinda tired, really, but nothing major, I don't think." Lizzie, who had been studying her hands, looked up sharply. "You don't think it's like...abuse, or something?"  
  
While Lizzie was alarmed, neither Gordo nor Mrs. McGuire seemed all that surprised. Clearly, they'd been thinking along the same lines.  
  
"No!" Lizzie burst. "No, no, no! Mom, you know Miranda's mom and dad...they're nothing like that."  
  
"Sometimes people will surprise you," was all that Jo said.  
  
Her daughter shook her head fiercely, hitting Gordo's shoulder with her blond hair. "No. It can't be that way. It can't. I...I don't believe it," she said, more to herself then to them, getting up and walking away.  
  
Jo turned her eyes to Gordo. "Going after her?" she questioned.  
  
"In a sec," Gordo promised. "I have to say that I agree with her...Miranda's parents aren't like that. But I can't help thinking that maybe this is what this is all about."  
  
"I don't really believe that Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez are capable of that sort of thing," Jo said. "Still..."  
  
"Yeah," Gordo said.  
  
"I won't call anyone just yet," she said. "I think that would be the best course of action, but I'll wait for you two to find out a little more before I do anything drastic. Maybe it's just PMS, and it'll all blow over. Who knows?"  
  
Gordo nodded resolutely, and got up from the table. "Thanks, Mrs. McGuire," he said, and chased after his best friend. 


	4. 4

I don't own it.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
Lizzie was pacing her room frantically, head bowed, hair swaying in a golden curtain. Gordo breezed into the room and plopped himself on the bed to watch her. "What're you thinking about?" he said casually, as if this was no big deal, and she was worrying about her outfits for the week.  
  
Lizzie stopped dead and gave him one of those instant-death looks. "Are you kidding me?"  
  
"Lizzie, just relax, okay? It's probably not as bad as we think." While Gordo was afraid that it *was* as bad as they thought, he felt that he had to protect Lizzie. That was the thing about Lizzie -- she was eternally caring, about everyone, but she was just so naive sometimes. Gordo often felt like he had to protect her from the harsher truths of the world, which was easier said than done. But it was worth it, because it was her innocence that made her so special.  
  
"What if it is that bad? What are we supposed to do?"  
  
He shrugged. "I have no idea."  
  
"God, could someone really be hurting Miranda?"  
  
"We're jumping to conclusions," Gordo said. "Maybe it's just PMS or something."  
  
"You of all people don't get to talk about PMS."  
  
He had to laugh at that. "Fair enough. Listen, I'm gonna go now, okay? I'll call you tonight. And stop thinking about this, you're gonna drive yourself crazy."  
  
She nodded, and sat down where he had just vacated. She didn't notice when he left the room, closing the door behind him, but looking out of her window saw him walking down the street. He glanced back at the house, saw Lizzie looking at him, smiled and waved. Lizzie waved back tentatively. Gordo was trying to protect her again, she knew. He was always like that, looking out for her, trying to save her from bad things, trying to see that she got through them...  
  
It was really sweet of him, really, but she wasn't a little girl, and she didn't need David Gordon to hold her hand and lead her through everything. She could handle anything that was thrown at her, and she could handle this.  
  
But if someone was hurting Miranda...  
  
Well, she'd be lying if she said the thought didn't terrify her. Miranda was her best friend, and a good person, and didn't deserve that. 


	5. 5

I don't own it.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
Miranda cowered in her room, wishing fervently that she could lock her door and shut out the world. She loved the fact that Gordo and Lizzie were concerned, and she was eternally grateful for their love, but they would be better off if they just stayed away.  
  
She'd spent the morning hiding out in various bathrooms throughout the school. The thought of facing anyone was both scary and exhausting. Her body was feeling that tired ache, and she just wasn't in the mood for socializing or learning...or really much of anything. Even keeping up her disappearing act was wearing her out, because she had to move every so often so as to avoid suspicion.  
  
No one knew. No one was ever going to know. She could continue to avoid and evade, to hide and pretend. But no one would ever know.  
  
There was a knock at the door. Miranda closed her eyes and leaned against her pillows, plopping one across her face, not sure who she should hope was at the other end. Her mom would just be filled with questions and accusations. Lizzie and Gordo would want to know everything that was wrong. And those were the better options...  
  
"What is it," Miranda asked, her words muffled by the pillow.  
  
"Miranda?" Unfortunately, the pillow was muffling the response, too. With a sigh she flung it off her face and sat up. "What do you want," she said tonelessly.  
  
The door swung open, and her mother's head poked through the gap. "Phone for you."  
  
"Is it Lizzie?"  
  
Her mother nodded.  
  
Miranda sighed. She hesitated for a few seconds, then reluctantly got up and accepted the receiver. Her mother closed the door and walked down the hall. Miranda flounced into a chair and took Lizzie off hold. "Hi."  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey," said Gordo's voice. Miranda rolled her eyes. Fantastic. Three-way. Normally she loved it, but not when it was going to turn into a 'Bug Miranda' fest.  
  
"What's up?" she asked, not bothering to even fake brightness.  
  
"Not much. Missed you after school," Lizzie said. "Gordo came over and ate all of my cookies."  
  
"Sounds like Gordo."  
  
"I resent that," Gordo said.  
  
"You're supposed to," Lizzie pointed out.  
  
Hmm. Maybe they'd gotten over that morning's nosiness and were just going to let things be.  
  
"So Miranda, you totally missed it in class today!" Lizzie said. "Mrs. Wortman was going over last night's homework, right? And Tudgeman is relating one of the equations to Star Wars again, and the window's open, and this *bee* flies in outta nowhere, and starts buzzing around Ethan's head, and he *freaks* out and starts waving his hands all around, you know, like he does when he dances? And *Kate* starts to freak out, and then Ethan runs out of the room, swatting at his head, while Kate's just protecting her hair and screaming. It was the funniest thing ever."  
  
Miranda smiled. "Sounds like it."  
  
"And in science we were supposed to dissect frogs, remember?" Gordo said. "But Larry let them all loose during lunch."  
  
"So what did you do?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Played science bingo with a hall monitor while Mr. Pettus chased down the frogs."  
  
Miranda laughed slightly. "Cool." She was surprised that she actually missed having not been there, and not because the classes sounded entertaining.  
  
But she couldn't let them know.  
  
There was another rap on the door, and without waiting for a response, it opened. He stuck his head in, and Miranda drew into herself instinctively.  
  
"Miranda. Dinner."  
  
He said it with such authoritativeness that she couldn't help the flush of defiance running through her body. "I'm on the phone," she said bitingly, then immediately regretted her lack of judgment. His eyes flashed coldly. "I said now."  
  
She bowed her head to avert her eyes. "Yes, sir," she mumbled, then added to her friends, "I gotta go, guys."  
  
"Already?" Lizzie said sadly.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh. Okay. Well, see you tomorrow..?"  
  
He was still staring at her, she could feel it, and she said, "Uh huh. Bye."  
  
"Bye," her friends chorused, and she clicked off the phone, her only lifeline. She followed him into the hall. 


	6. 6

I don't own it.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
"Who was that guy?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"What guy?"  
  
"The voice in the background."  
  
"...What voice?" Gordo said, confused.  
  
"The one who told Miranda it was time for dinner."  
  
"I never heard a voice...maybe it was her dad..?"  
  
"It wasn't her dad."  
  
"Then it's the kidnapper holding them hostage who also happens to like prompt meals."  
  
"Gordo, I'm serious."  
  
"And I'm not?"  
  
Lizzie sighed. "I'm worried."  
  
"I know you are. And I told you that she would talk to us when she was ready to, didn't I?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like a broken record."  
  
"But aren't I usually right?"  
  
"Emphasis on *usually*," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. "Okay. Well. I'll see you in school tomorrow, I guess."  
  
"Of course."  
  
She hesitated, then sighed. "Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Gordo hung up the phone. School wasn't supposed to be complicated. Not when you were as smart as David Gordon. Well, it wasn't school, exactly. School he could handle fine. It was the people at school. Specifically his best friends.  
  
His parents, while they loved Lizzie and liked Miranda (they thought she was on the verge of being "trouble"), had, once he had reached a "mature age", warned him extensively of the problems that came with being best friends with two girls. Gordo had ignored their warnings, having found that his worst problem was having to listen to Lizzie and Miranda talk incessantly about people like Danny Kessler and Ethan Craft. But now... Now, Gordo found himself liking Lizzie. *Liking* Lizzie. Not entirely out of nowhere, because she was pretty and smart and fun and caring and nice...he supposed this was what his parents had been trying to warn him about.  
  
And if that wasn't enough, *now* he had Miranda to worry about. He didn't even know where to start with that. Maybe his instincts were off, just a mother hen complex kicking in full gear and blocking out logic, where logic might prevail.  
  
He had talked to Mrs. McGuire. It had been a step, a good step, and that was good. So he should just wait for some new developments. It was all he could do. 


	7. 7

I don't own it.  
  
Tia is Miranda's baby sister. I don't remember if this came from the series, or if I made it up...well, I made up the name, at the least. Whichever.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
The next day, Miranda was earlier than even Gordo, sitting in homeroom stoically, staring at the blackboard. Lizzie sat next to her and offered a cheerful hello. To her surprise, Miranda actually smiled back.  
  
"You're in a good mood," Gordo observed, taking the seat behind Lizzie.  
  
"Am I?" Miranda said, flipping open her notebook to a clean page, and therefore avoiding her best friends' eyes.  
  
"Compared to yesterday, you are," he said. "Everything's okay now?"  
  
"Of course," Miranda said, jotting the date at the top of the page. Still she didn't look at them.  
  
Lizzie frowned slightly. "You're positive?"  
  
Miranda glanced at her, a smile fixed on her face. "Of course," she repeated. "Everything's good, Lizzie. I was just a little...under the weather yesterday. You know?"  
  
"Oh, sure," Gordo said, nodding emphatically. "Something's going around."  
  
"Yeah, totally. My mom got it, and so I had to take care of Tia, and I guess I got a little germy, too, so I wasn't really up to going to classes and stuff, you know? So I spent yesterday in the nurse's office."  
  
Something didn't quite click with Miranda's story, Lizzie thought. "You had to take care of Tia? What about your dad?"  
  
"My...dad?" Miranda choked, her eyes widening. "Uh! I mean, my dad was kinda, y'know, sick. He was sick, too. So I had to take care of Tia."  
  
"Oh," Lizzie said, and forced herself to smile. There was something really off with all of this, but it seemed important to Miranda that they believe her, so Lizzie nodded. Fortunately, they were saved from the awkwardness when the teacher walked in the room and the announcements started.  
  
Lizzie frantically scribbled a note, tucked her arm behind her back, and dropped it on Gordo's desk. 'Gordo, I don't think Miranda's telling the truth. She looks a lot better than she did yesterday, but I'm way worried. -Lizzie'  
  
A few minutes later, Gordo's had tapped her shoulder and she angled herself to accept his note. 'Lizzie, I agree. I think this time we should talk to her, though. -Gordo'  
  
Lizzie nodded to show that she agreed, and when the final homeroom bell rang, while Miranda went for the door like the rest of the class, Lizzie jumped in front of her. "Lizzie, what the heck?" Miranda said almost irritably. "We're gonna be late."  
  
"We're not going anywhere until you tell us what's going on," Lizzie said firmly.  
  
Miranda shook her head with a disbelieving smile on her face. "You're kidding, right?" She turned to Gordo. "She's kidding, right?"  
  
"We're not kidding, Miranda. Something's wrong."  
  
"Nothing is wrong! I told you that. I was just a little sick."  
  
"You're not sick."  
  
"What are you, a doctor?"  
  
"No, I'm your best friend. And I *know* when something is wrong. So just spill it already, and the sooner we can go about fixing it," Lizzie said. She frowned, hoping that Miranda would just agree to it. They were trying to help her, but they couldn't help if they didn't know the problem.  
  
Miranda stared at her for a long time while Gordo lurked in the background. Fire leapt in the brunette's eyes, and she said venomously, "You're insane." She looked to Gordo again. "You're *both* insane. I'm out of here."  
  
"Miranda, wait. I--" Lizzie started to say, reaching out for Miranda's arm, but her best friend brushed past her angrily, almost viciously. The door slammed shut behind her so forcefully that Lizzie jolted. She looked worriedly to Gordo. "I messed everything up, didn't I, Gordo."  
  
She'd only been trying to help, and now Miranda hated her and they *still* didn't know what was going on. Lizzie felt tears brimming in her eyes. She was just so confused, and so scared...  
  
As they started to spill over, Lizzie found herself being wrapped in Gordo's arms. "I'm terrified, Gordo," she admitted, sobbing into his shoulder. He rubbed her back gently. "I know, I know," he said softly. "It'll be okay, Lizzie, I promise. It's all gonna be okay again."  
  
She felt so safe in that hug, and it was enough to make her believe that everything really *would* be okay again. "Gordo..." Lizzie whispered.  
  
Just then, the door opened and people started to file in. Embarrassed, Lizzie and Gordo jumped away from each other. "Gotta get to class," they said in unison, and instead of smiling at each other like they always did in those moments where they thought alike, they looked to the ground as they got their stuff together, and ran out of the room. 


	8. 8

I don't own it.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
Unfortunately for the trio, they all shared the same class. Because of Miranda's absence the day before, her average would be hurting if she missed too many classes, so she was sitting rigidly in the front row, the same position she'd been in when Lizzie and Gordo had found her in homeroom.  
  
Lizzie was embarrassed about getting caught with Gordo. Not that crying wasn't okay, not that getting comforted by him wasn't okay, but she as she'd gotten lost in his gentle scent, she'd stopped thinking about Miranda and had started thinking about *him*. Gordo. And how she loved being hugged by him, and how she wished they could do it under different circumstances.  
  
But she wasn't supposed to be thinking things like that. For one thing, it was Gordo, her best friend, and she wasn't interested in him like that. And for another thing, she had to worry about Miranda, and having Gordo hold her and liking him holding her was *not* helping Miranda in the slightest. So she took her usual seat, staring straight ahead, too ashamed to look at either of her best friends.  
  
Gordo was suffering on his own. He was worried about Miranda, he was worried about Lizzie, he was worried about how he'd come across when he'd hugged Lizzie. He'd just been trying to comfort her, but holding her had felt so good...  
  
Miranda hated them both. They were just so damned *caring*! She couldn't take any more of their niceness. Because before long, she would break, and she would tell them everything. Instinctively, she tugged at the sleeves of her sweater. There was no way to safely isolate herself from the both of them, unless she turned on the Bitch Factor, thus severing all ties. And while that was the best option, the safest option, she didn't want to do it.  
  
They were her best friends. And she absolutely loved them. But she didn't want them to know. They *couldn't* know, not ever.  
  
Mrs. Stebel walked into the room, and started a lecture on the Revolutionary War, causing the trio to sit up. Because they couldn't spend time writing each other notes like they always did, their history notes were the most extensive any of them had ever written (even Gordo). Immersing themselves in the pressures of school was easier than succumbing to the other pressures.  
  
As the remaining minutes dwindled, however, Lizzie found her mind wandering. Gordo, Miranda, Miranda, Gordo...she didn't know what to do, not at all. She wanted to focus on one problem, try to fix that, but she didn't know which would be easier to tackle. Did she have feelings for Gordo? What could she even possibly begin to do about that? And why *now*, when Miranda was in trouble and needed Lizzie's full attention?  
  
And if Miranda was in trouble, she certainly wasn't doing much to help Lizzie help her. Now Lizzie wasn't sure how she was supposed to behave around either of her best friends.  
  
The bell rang, jolting the three from their anguished trains of thought, and the room was filled with the rustling of papers as students tried to flee the room before Mrs. Stebel barked out the assignment.  
  
Miranda, in her mad dash out of the room, not only to escape the homework assignment but her two best friends, ended up running straight into Ethan Craft in the hallway. He was tall enough that her forehead bounced off of his collarbone. She grunted, rubbing at the bruise. "Geez."  
  
"Whoa, sorry Miranda! You okay?" Ethan said, peering down at her.  
  
"Ugh," was all Miranda could muster. Then again, what was one more bruise?  
  
"I'm real sorry about that," he said, and when she looked up at him, there was sincerity in his eyes. Why was everyone so damn nice to her all of a sudden? Unable to help herself, she started to cry. Ethan looked alarmed. "I didn't hurt you that badly, did I?" he asked. "You wanna go to the nurse or something?"  
  
Miranda was hiccupping, unable to respond. Ethan took her arm and steered her safely through the crowded hallway, and it was only when they were just reaching the nurse's office door that Miranda found her voice. "I don't need the nurse!" she gasped frantically, suddenly seized by panic. "Really. I'm fine."  
  
"You're crying..." Ethan said helplessly.  
  
"Not because of you," she assured him. "Really. I just...I just got a little overwhelmed, is all. You know? Things have been so hard...and then I just hit my head and it was just too much, is all. I'm sorry. Really. I'm okay." If she said that often enough, maybe she would start to believe it.  
  
He was still looking concerned. "D'ya...d'ya wanna talk about it? Or something? Sometimes if I'm having a bummer day, I go boarding...but you can't skateboard, can you. So maybe you could talk to me. And I could, like, go boarding *for* you."  
  
Miranda wasn't quite sure what to make of Ethan Craft. The guy was pretty, but he was also pretty dumb. But apparently he was also a pretty nice guy. And, God, did she ever need someone to talk to...  
  
She glanced around the hallway. "Not here," she said.  
  
Ethan screwed up his face, interpreting what she was saying. "Well, no, I can't board here...I'd get suspended. Or something."  
  
"No, I mean, we can't talk here. Can I meet you for lunch, and we'll go somewhere private?"  
  
"Yeah, okay," he said.  
  
Miranda smiled, her first sincere smile in quite some time. "Ethan, thanks for everything." 


	9. 9

I don't own it.  
  
===Voices Carry===  
  
Miranda paced in front of the cafeteria doors. She'd hid around the corner when she'd seen Lizzie approaching, and had done it again when she'd seen Gordo coming up. From the looks of things, the two of them weren't talking to each other, and she couldn't help but wonder what that was all about. Were they no longer on speaking terms? Because of her?  
  
Ethan wasn't here, and she was starting to lose her nerve. This whole thing had been a huge mistake. She didn't know a damn thing about Ethan Craft, didn't know if he could be trusted, didn't know if he even really cared. She turned around, ready to bail on Ethan and lunch and maybe school in general, but as she started to make her getaway, who else should she run into but the very person she'd decided to avoid.  
  
And she actually ran into him, too, physically, for the second time that day. "Oof, sorry."  
  
"We gotta stop meeting like this," Ethan said, and when she looked up at him, he was grinning.  
  
Impossible. Ethan Craft had just made a joke. It wasn't very funny, but it was so rare and unexpected that Miranda laughed anyway. "Um, hi."  
  
"Hi. Sorry I'm late, I was talking with Mr. Dig."  
  
"I thought you'd forgot," she admitted, and then blushed, realizing how pathetic that was and how more pathetic it was to admit it.  
  
"Nah, I forget a lot of things. Like state capitals. And where my homeroom is. But I always remember to feed my hamster."  
  
Miranda just stared. Words failed her, which was probably a good thing, because that meant she could bail gracefully out of this without ever actually saying the truth.  
  
"So, you wanted to talk..?"  
  
Crap. So much for that theory. Well, with any luck, he'd forget everything. "Yeah. Let's uh...go here," she said, ducking into an empty classroom. Ethan followed, and had the good sense to close the door behind him. At least, she thought it was good sense. Knowing Ethan...  
  
They perched on desktops, and looked everywhere but at each other, lost in silence. Finally Miranda sighed. "Everything's wrong," she said. She couldn't have summed it up better.  
  
"Like how?"  
  
"Like...just everything. My dad...and my sister...Lizzie, Gordo, school...everything."  
  
"What's wrong with your dad?"  
  
"You live with your dad and stepmom, right?" She remembered hearing Kate say something to that effect.  
  
"Yeah, my mom died when I was little."  
  
"Oh." She wasn't sure what to say. It was an awful thing to hear, especially when she was thinking their situations might be somewhat alike. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Naw, it's cool, dude. I mean, like, you didn't kill her or anything, right? 'Cause she died in a car accident, and you'd have been too young to drive."  
  
"I'm too young to drive now," Miranda pointed out, glad she hadn't offended him.  
  
"Yeah, totally." There was a lull then, and Ethan said, "So what's with your dad?"  
  
"He left," Miranda said quietly.  
  
Ethan's brow furrowed. "That sucks! When?"  
  
"A couple of weeks ago. He and my mom were fighting all the time, and he just up and left." She drew her knees up to her chest, and rested her chin on her folded arms, her body taking up the whole surface of the small desk.  
  
Ethan nodded. "I'm sorry."  
  
She quirked a half-smile at him. "It's cool. I mean, you didn't drive him off or anything, right?"  
  
He stared at her for a second, and she groaned inwardly, knowing he didn't get it. But he surprised her for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, by grinning. "Funny."  
  
Her half-smile became a full one as they laughed together. Not because it had been that funny, but because they were bonding, such an unlikely pair.  
  
"So that can't be everything," Ethan said. "You said, like, your dad, and your sister, and Lizzie and Gor-don and school..."  
  
"I thought you said you didn't remember much."  
  
Ethan shrugged.  
  
"Ethan, I can trust you to keep secrets, right?" Miranda said softly.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well...a couple of days after my dad left..." Suddenly Miranda stopped. It was too fresh, too new, too painful to talk about. She decided to go for the 'easier' truth. "Um. I, uh...well, the thing is...I sort of have...this crush." She glanced up at him, saw him staring back at her, and then quickly looked away. "On...on Gordo."  
  
"Gor-don!" Ethan declared. "No way!"  
  
"Yeah way. But the thing is...well, you know, everyone knows. That he likes Lizzie. Except for maybe Lizzie, she doesn't know. But it's obvious that he's crazy about her. And she may not know that he likes her, and she may not know yet even that *she* likes *him*, but I know her well enough to know that deep down, she likes him back. Loves, even." Miranda sighed, because voicing what she'd suspected all along was tiring and depressing. "They love each other. It's only a matter of time before they figure it out."  
  
She could feel Ethan's eyes still on her, taking all of this in, or maybe she was mistaken, and he was watching a fly out the window. Even so, while it was painful to discuss, it did still help to speak the truth aloud in the presence of someone else, even if the other person wasn't necessarily paying attention. "And where does that leave me?" she continued. "A third wheel. Because suddenly the three amigos become...well...LizzieandGordo. And there *I* am, Miranda, a footnote. The one who got cast aside, the one who couldn't cut it. And it's just that...why her? Over me, I mean. I'm pretty, aren't I? And he gets along with me. And I have tons of good qualities. So why not me?"  
  
"Well, like, the thing about Lizzie is that...she, like, she's so *nice*, you know? To everybody! Her parents, her teachers, her friends, even peeps she doesn't know. Stuff like that. And that doesn't mean that *you're* not nice, it just means that, like, Lizzie's, like, *really* nice, and maybe Gor-don just really likes that. 'Cause, you know, she makes you feel special and stuff. And you've got good quali...qual..." Ethan's brow furrowed. "Good *things* about you, too, Miranda, it's just that maybe those aren't the things Gor-don likes. You know?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I know I should be happy for them, because they're my best friends, and I *am*, don't get me wrong, but it's just that it's hard, 'cause I like him too. And it's hard to get over someone you like."  
  
"Totally."  
  
"What do I do?"  
  
He shrugged. "Just, hang on for the ride, I guess. You'll find someone better than him."  
  
"Hmm," Miranda said.  
  
"You know, like, someone that listens to you and actually, like *listens*, not hears. 'Cause, I mean, they're like, two different things, you know? Like, I hear when Mr. Pettus is talking about science, and stuff, but I don't really *listen*, and that's why I have a D in science."  
  
Miranda could only gaze at him for awhile, lost in thought. After a pause, she said, "You listen to me."  
  
"I guess I do."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You asked me to."  
  
"I asked you to, yeah, but I only asked you to hear. Not to listen. We all choose what we listen to, but we don't get to choose what we hear. But you're listening. To me. Why?"  
  
Ethan's brow furrowed. "I don't know. You need a friend, Miranda, and it sounds like maybe Lizzie and Gor-don aren't being the best of friends right now."  
  
Which wasn't exactly true, Miranda thought, they were being great friends, being very concerned. *Too* concerned, really, and *that* was the problem.  
  
"I have a lot more secrets," she admitted with a slight sigh.  
  
Ethan nodded like he understood. "You can tell me them," he said. "I won't tell. I swear." 


End file.
